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Malaysia to ban social media for children under 16 next year

Malaysia will require social media platforms to verify users' ages with electronic KYC and ban under-16 sign-ups from 2026 to protect children from online harms, officials said.

  • Next year, Malaysia will prohibit children under 16 from signing up for social media, as part of the Online Safety Act coming into force on Jan 1, 2026.
  • Citing rising online harms, Fahmi said the government reviews protections against cyberbullying and scams as TikTok, Snapchat, Google and Meta Platforms face scrutiny over youths' safety.
  • Platforms must implement eKYC checks using MyKad, passports and MyDigital ID, while platforms and messaging services with more than eight million users face licensing requirements introduced in January.
  • Fahmi said platform providers should be ready to implement eKYC by next year as we hope social media platforms will comply with barring under-16s, while Australia’s account deactivation plan will be closely watched, the government noted.
  • Several European countries are jointly testing an age-verification app, including France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Greece, while Indonesia chose less stringent rules focusing on content filters and age verification.
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Reuters broke the news in United Kingdom on Sunday, November 23, 2025.
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